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Otto Thoresen has spent six years as the head of the British subsidiary of Aegon

One of the leading figures in Scottish finance is being replaced as chief executive of Aegon insurance and pensions company.

Otto Thoresen is to be the new director general of the Association of British Insurers.

Thoresen is to be replaced by Adrian Grace, a former banker who has been chief operating officer at Aegon for the past year.

Aegon faces challenges in cutting costs and changing its business model.

Last summer it announced plans to cut tens of millions of pounds from its annual running costs with the loss of about 600 jobs.

Much of Aegon's British business was built on Scottish Equitable, which it bought 16 years ago.

The Dutch firm has its UK headquarters in Edinburgh.

Aegon's chief executive Alex Wynaendts said: "We are grateful to Otto Thoresen for his years of leadership and many contributions to Aegon UK throughout his long career.

"Adrian Grace is uniquely qualified to lead our organization in the UK forward given his extensive industry experience and the significant role he has played in repositioning our business over the past several months."